Using a laser to measure the burn area's dimensions, the spray of protective skin cells is applied with great accuracy. The device is mounted on a movable structure and the skin cells are sprayed at the wound while the patient lies on a hospital bed.

Tests on mice showed the spray system, called bioprinting, could heal wounds quickly and safely, the researchers reported at the Translational Regenerative Medicine Forumb. "We literally print the cells directly onto the wound," said one research student, who actually helped design the device. "We can put specific cells where they need to go. We were able to close the entire wound in two weeks."

George Christ, a professor of regenerative medicine at the school, said that human-testing approval (by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) is the next step.

The team believes the device could be used to close various types of wounds as well as burns. This opens countless new avenues of repairing the human body.